Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 47: Tensions

A strange sensation dragged me forcefully by my tail out of the comfort of my dreams and into the waking world full of various pains, doubts, and anxieties. I tried to dig my imaginary claws into unconsciousness to remain in my dreams, which were very nice for once, but that insistent force effortlessly pried them loose and tossed me into reality whether I liked it or not.

Grogginess and confusion assaulted me as my body slowly roused, driven by an impatient feeling in my gut that demanded attention. The first possibility to hit my weary mind was hunger and thirst, but this felt like neither of those things. It was only when I felt myself subconsciously coiling tighter around a hard, warm object that I recognized the strange force for what it was.

As I steadily chased away my lingering drowsiness, more details became apparent. My gut burned whenever I took too deep a breath, hinting that the plants Nana Astra gave me for pain must've worn off. I felt better than I did last night, at least, which was a good sign, but obviously nowhere near 'healthy.' I held a coarse object close to my warm chest, one I already felt an indescribably deep attachment to. A tiny, rapid heartbeat was faintly audible just under the shell. The smell of old blood still tinged the air, reminding me that both my nest and I still hadn't been cleaned, along with another-

In a blink, my eyes snapped open, and my teeth bared threateningly at the intruder, wrapping myself even tighter around my vulnerable egg. A second later, I recognized black scales and tired green eyes staring impassively back at me just outside the root chamber, making my hostile demeanor wilt. "D-Dad...?" I whined fearfully. Was he here to hurt my egg? Where was Myrkr?

"Your grandmother and I had a... erm... talk," Dad said with a slight flinch. "It has come to my attention that my anger got the best of me... again. I might have been too harsh-"

"Might?" I hissed before I could stop myself.

Surprisingly, Dad didn't snap at me for my disrespectful attitude, merely dropping his gaze to the ground in shame. "I was too harsh," he amended quietly. "I don't know what I was thinking, threatening to murder your egg, but it was wrong. Only a monster would try to kill an egg only guilty of existing." 

I adjusted my grip on my precious little life, eyeing Dad uncertainly when he tentatively lifted his gaze back to me, silently pleading. Although I knew I could trust Dad's word, a small part of me that I suspected was my new instincts were far from trusting. He threatened my egg, then actually tried to murder it. But Dad wasn't one to break his word lightly, especially not when it came to something like this. 

He shifted his weight after a long, uncomfortable silence. "Aurora?"

I glanced at my surroundings without really seeing, torn between trust and doubt, then settled in a neutral response. "...You never said you were sorry."

He bowed his head and cringed. "Right," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I don't know how you really feel about that egg, but I can tell that you want to keep it, and... and that makes me proud. You're behaving like a mature adult while I look like a foolhardy hatchling. I'm sorry for what I did and tried to do. It will never happen again."

I studied his drooping, submissive posture and sad eyes while he awaited my answer. I trusted him, I always had, and this latest incident had put that trust on shaky ground, but it was still there. The good outweighed the bad, in this case.

I smiled a little, feeling nervous for a different reason. "D-Do you want to see it?"

Dad's green eyes widened considerably, flitting through many emotions in a split second before settling on one. He nodded nervously. "Yes..." I beckoned him over with a flick of my tail, waiting until he'd crouched beside me to lift a concealing wing, exposing my egg to his wide-eyed stare.